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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that may increase the risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis include:
- Your age. Primary sclerosing cholangitis can occur at any age, but it's most commonly diagnosed in people ages 25 to 45.
- Your sex. Primary sclerosing cholangitis occurs more often in men than it does in women.
- Inflammatory bowel disease. The great majority of people with primary sclerosing cholangitis also have inflammatory bowel disease, which includes ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Still, primary sclerosing cholangitis is rare among people with inflammatory bowel disease, and most won't develop primary sclerosing cholangitis. It's not clear why these diseases occur together. If you've been diagnosed with primary sclerosing cholangitis, your doctor may recommend testing for inflammatory bowel disease, even if you have no signs or symptoms.
References
- Ross AS, et al. Sclerosing cholangitis and recurrent pyogenic cholangitis. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6189-2..X0001-7--TOP&isbn=978-1-4160-6189-2&about=true&uniqId=229935664-2192. Accessed March 3, 2011.
- Diagnosis and management of primary sclerosing cholangitis. Alexandria, Va.: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. http://www.aasld.org/practiceguidelines/Documents/Practice%20Guidelines/PSC_2-2010.pdf. Accessed March 3, 2011.
- Lopez MJ, et al. Primary sclerosing cholangitis and primary biliary cirrhosis. The American College of Gastroenterology. http://www.acg.gi.org/patients/gihealth/sclerosing.asp. Accessed March 3, 2011.
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/primarysclerosingcholangitis/index.htm. Accessed March 3, 2011.
- Liver health. American Liver Foundation. http://www.liverfoundation.org/abouttheliver/liverhealth/. Accessed March 3, 2011.
- Mendes F, et al. Primary and sclerosing cholangitis: Overview and update. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology. 2010;7:611.
- Rosenthal TC, et al. Fatigue: An overview. American Family Physician. 2008;78:1173.
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